Prerequisites to install the client
This section covers the requirements for hardware and system, network, product, and any other requirements that you must meet prior to installing IBM RPA SaaS client.
Detailed system requirements
Your environment must comply with the requirements in the detailed system requirements report for the client-side of IBM RPA SaaS. This report details the operational systems, hardware, software, and any other requirements that are needed to install the client.
The detailed system requirements report for IBM RPA SaaS is used to be in the current version of the product. If you want a direct link to the report, see Detailed system requirements for IBM Robotic Process Automation as a Service 🡥.
If you want search for this report in the Software Product Compatibility Reports page, complete the following steps:
- Go to Detailed system requirements for a specific product 🡥.
- On the Full or partial product name field, enter
IBM Robotic Process Automation
and click the magnifying glass. - From the Search results list, select
IBM Robotic Process Automation as a Service
. - From the Version list, select a version.
- Optional: Click the following accordion items to change what you want to see on the report: Operating system platforms, Product components, Product containers, and Capabilities. By default, all options are selected.
- Click Submit.
A new window opens, loading the detailed system requirements report.
Note about software prerequisites
Install software prerequisites manually if you want to install IBM RPA through the command line interface.
When you run the installer on a computer without meeting software prerequisites, the installer prompts you to install it, and restart the computer before you resume the IBM RPA installation.
User requirements
You must run the installer with administrator privileges.
Antivirus notice
Some antivirus software might block certain parts of the installation process, causing error messages to appear. In some cases, the installer ends successfully, but IBM RPA Studio or other components don't get the necessary permissions to operate.
In this scenario, add the following paths to the antivirus ignore list:
- IBM executable files at
C:\Program Files\IBM Robotic Process Automation\IBM Robotic Process Automation
. - IBM executables files at
C:\Program Files\IBM Robotic Process Automation\IBM Robotic Process Automation\Toolkit
. - Executable files that are not part of the IBM RPA Studio, but are used to help automations.
- These executable files are extracted at runtime in the
%LOCALAPPDATA%\IBM Robotic Process Automation\packages
folder in the current user session. For example,C:\Users\USER_NAME\AppData\Local\IBM Robotic Process Automation\packages
.
Optional: System restore point
You can configure your Windows™ environment to create restore points at regular intervals, or create it manually at any time. It can help you undo changes to a previous state by using the data from a restore point. For more information, see Use System Restore 🡥.
Network prerequisites
See the network prerequisites for the IBM RPA SaaS client installation:
- Internet connection
- Web browser policy
- API requests to IBM RPA domains and HTTPS communication
- Ports to trigger bots
Internet connection
The IBM Robotic Process Automation as a Service client installer doesn't work offline. A stable internet connection is needed to proceed with the installation. It ensures stable communication between the client installer and the server.
Web browser policy
Setting policies to the supported web browsers 🡥 can block web automation capabilities. The following policies can block:
- The
DisableDevTools
preference in Mozilla Firefox. - The "Set User Data Directory" policy in Google Chrome.
Also, don't change the default directory to the user profile data. For more information, see Web browser policies.
API requests to IBM RPA domains and HTTPS communication
IBM RPA domains
If you want to enable the specific IBM RPA domains, you need to allow communication to the following URLs:
Domain | Protocol | Port | Description |
---|---|---|---|
<REGIONCODE>app.wdgautomation.com |
HTTPS | 443 | IBM RPA server API endpoint |
<REGIONCODE>api.wdgautomation.com |
HTTPS | 443 | Main IBM RPA server API endpoint |
<REGIONCODE>bot.wdgautomation.com |
HTTPS | 443 | Chatbot API endpoint |
downloads.wdgautomation.com |
HTTPS | 443 | IBM RPA downloads repository API endpoint |
secure.wdgautomation.com |
HTTPS | 443 | IBM RPA installer download repository |
api.wdgautomation.com |
HTTPS | 443 | IBM RPA server API endpoint |
br2-api.wdgautomation.com |
HTTPS | 443 | Main IBM RPA server API endpoint |
br2-bot.wdgautomation.com |
HTTPS | 443 | Chatbot API endpoint |
licensing.wdgautomation.com ¹ |
HTTPS | 443 | IBM RPA licensing system API endpoint |
<REGIONCODE>wdgqueue.queue.core.windows.net |
HTTPS | 443 | Platform's default workload queue endpoint |
¹ Starting from version 21.0.7-FP003, the licensing.wdgautomation.com
domain isn't required.
Grant access to *.wdgautomation.com
domains and subdomains in the client's operating system.
For more information about region codes, see Understanding tenants and regions.
HTTPS communication
You need to enable HTTPS communication. If you want to enable the certificate authorities-specific domains, the following list shows the domains that you need to allow communication to enable SSL/TLS
encryption:
zerossl.ocsp.sectigo.com
x1.c.lencr.org
crl.identrust.com
crt.sectigo.com
crt.comodoca.com
crl3.digicert.com
crl4.digicert.com
ocsp.usertrust.com
crl.globalsign.com/gsgccr3dvtlsca2020.crl
secure.globalsign.com/cacert/gsgccr3dvtlsca2020.crt
ocsp.globalsign.com/gsgccr3dvtlsca2020
globalsign.com/repository/
ocsp.digicert.com/
Ports to trigger bots
The following table shows optional ports that you can open in the host computer to trigger bots through the API:
Service | Protocol | Port | Traffic |
---|---|---|---|
HTTPS handler | TCP | 8099 | Inbound |
HTTPS handler by using IBM RPA brokering | TCP | 8096 | Inbound |
IVR Telephony (SSH) | TCP | 22 | Outbound |
Make sure that there is no firewall policy blocking IPC. The range affected is 49152
-75535
. For more information, refer to Web browser policies.
🛈 Remember: The bot uses only one port per runtime.
Product prerequisites
See the following product prerequisites before you install IBM RPA:
- For versions before 21.0.7-FP003: IBM RPA license:
License ID
andLicense password
- Starting from version 21.0.7-FP003: IBM RPA license: Installation key
IBM RPA license: License ID
and License password
For versions before 21.0.7-FP003, a License ID
, License password
, and Tenant Code
are needed for the IBM RPA SaaS Client to activate the product. The tenant owner gets these data after
purchase. For information about purchasing, see Robotic Process Automation.
If you are not the tenant owner, you should ask your tenant owner for your license details.
To download the installer, see the Downloading the installer topic.
License activations
Each License ID
and License password
can be activated only a limited amount of time, and you must not exceed the maximum amount of activations, otherwise you run into invalid license issues. See Out of licenses after installation for more information.
To prevent licensing issues, you can deactivate your license to restore one license activation. You can activate your license later even on different computers. If you are unable to deactivate your license, contact IBM Support.
Getting your tenant code
Complete the following steps to get the tenant code for installations before IBM RPA 21.0.7-FP003:
-
Log in to IBM RPA Control Center.
-
Click the Profile icon .
-
Copy the number that follows the Code label.
IBM RPA license: Installation key
Starting from version 21.0.7-FP003, you must have an installation key to install IBM Robotic Process Automation Client. The installer registers and certifies the computer to the tenant that generated the installation key.
The following list describes how you can get your tenant's installation key on IBM RPA Control Center:
- You can copy the installation key in the download modal that appears after you click the Download icon. The modal has the button to download the client installer and the installation key for the tenant.
- If you have the appropriate user permissions, you can copy the installation key in the tenant's client settings.
To download the installer, see the Downloading the installer topic.
IBM Robotic Process Automation supports a new licensing system that provides flexibility and security. With this update, you can install the IBM Robotic Process Automation Client on any computer, considering that you have an installation key from a tenant. Installation keys mitigate common installation issues such as "License not loaded", "Out of license", or "No remaining activations" that required support intervention.
On IBM RPA Control Center, tenant administrators can regenerate the tenant's installation key, rendering previous keys unusable on newer client installations. This protects your tenant if the installation key gets exposed.
About the installer
The following table displays the tools that IBM RPA SaaS Client installs and that you need to run and develop your bots:
Tool | Function |
---|---|
Bot Runtime | Run IBM RPA bots. This tool is used by the other IBM RPA tools to run the bot. |
IBM RPA Studio | Develop IBM RPA bots. For more information, see IBM RPA Studio. |
IBM RPA Launcher | Start IBM RPA bots on demand. For more information, see Launching scripts. |
IBM RPA Vault | Store secrets and credentials. For more information, see IBM RPA Vault. |
Understanding certificates
IBM RPA uses a certificate system to authenticate computers on the IBM RPA server. After you install IBM RPA Client, your computer is registered to an environment that your organization is entitled to. The certificate ensures that your computer maintains a secure communication with the server.
Understanding tenants and regions
-
Tenant
A tenant is an independent logical section on the IBM Robotic Process Automation server. Tenants are also called environments. They store data and resources for specific use in that environment, such as users, computers, scripts, credentials, dashboards, among others. You can access these resources on the IBM RPA Control Center.
-
Regions
Regions refer to the locations of available IBM Robotic Process Automation servers. The servers are spread across different continents. Access your tenant through the IBM RPA Control Center by referencing the region code in the URL:
https://<REGION_CODE>app.wdgautomation.com/
Where:
<REGION_CODE> |
Region |
---|---|
ap1 |
Southeast Asia |
br1 |
Southeast Brazil 1 |
br2- |
Southeast Brazil 2 |
eu1 |
Midwest Germany |
uk1 |
Southern United Kingdom |
us1 |
Mid-South US |
For more information, see Details about tenants.
🛈 Remember: Region name codes must be all capitals.
Related links
Related topic: